YGBW partners with LCH Health and Community Services to Implement Bi-Lingual Water Safety Program for Adults

(Jennersville, PA) – In honor of National Water Safety month, the YMCA of Greater Brandywine (YGBW) recently partnered with LCH Health and Community Services to offer a bilingual water safety program for adults. The program was held late last month in the indoor pool at the Jennersville branch – with a dry land component held in LCH’s offices in West Grove.

The most remarkable part of the story is that the program was inspired by and funded by a local high school student, Madelyn DiBonaventura. DiBonaventura is a rising junior at Villa Maria Academy who is passionate about water safety and swims competitively. She contacted Laura Milazzo Mackiewicz, Director of Volunteer & Civic Engagement, with her idea and YMCA staff worked to bring her vision to life in the community.

Extending Water Safety Program to Adults
“It was a joy to work alongside Madelyn,” shares Mackiewicz. “Because of her passion for swimming and water safety, Madelyn wanted to fundraise to increase water safety skills in our community. We decided to focus on teaching adults because the YMCA is already well-known for offering swim lessons for children. We also offer lessons for adults – but isn’t widely known.”

In addition to swim lessons the YMCA offers a Safety Around Water program that teaches basic, life-saving water safety skills to local children. The program is free of cost to participants as it is funded by donations to the organization’s annual campaign.

“Madelyn gave us the opportunity to extend our Safety Around Water program to adults, which is not something that we’ve done before,” continues Mackiewicz. “At a young age, Madelyn embodies many of our core values - responsibility, caring and respect. I’m so proud of her.”

Partnering to Get the Job Done
With DiBonaventura’s pledge of $1,000 to cover the cost of an adult Safety Around Water program, YGBW partnered with the pediatric office of LCH Health and Community Services, a federally qualified health center, to connect with parents who were interested in the program. On behalf of the Y, LCH Program Coordinator Monica Mata-Lopez, recruited a cohort of twenty patients to participate.

LCH CEO, Ronan W. Gannon, said, “We were delighted to host the YMCA and the community at our West Grove Pediatric office to support water safety initiatives. The YMCA is a wonderful partner of LCH in West Grove and we are proud to collaborate with them in promoting health and safety for our community's adults and children."

The program included a water safety informational session at LCH’s offices with instruction offered in both English and Spanish. Participants then traveled to the Jennersville YMCA for in-pool instruction. The program addressed basic swimming and survival skills that educated participants on keeping themselves and their families safe in and around water.

“One participant shared that she did not know how to save a loved one from drowning until participating in our program,” continues Mackiewicz. “And two others shared that they had never been in a pool previously.”

“Our program and partnership are inspirational. We are grateful to our partners at LCH and of course for Madelyn’s leadership in raising money for our annual campaign so that we can offer life-saving skills to adults in our community.”

Increasing Access to Decrease Drownings
“With pool and beach season kicking off, the impact of our program is magnified,” shares John Holets, Director of Aquatics for the Jennersville YMCA, a YGBW branch. “Not only did we teach participants how to stay safe around water – but our efforts will help to keep their friends and family safe this summer, as well.”

According to data from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), drowning is the number one cause of death for children ages 1-4 in the United States. More than 15% of adults in our country do not know how to swim and over half have not had a swimming lesson.

“It is easy to take water safety skills for granted – but the reality is that many adults in our community do not know how to swim or save a loved one from drowning,” Holets continues. “We are proud to close the knowledge gap in our community because many drownings are preventable with better access to water safety skills.”

YGBW’s annual campaign is underway. All donations benefit the Chester County community, enabling the Y to grant need-based scholarships for vital services like swim lessons, childcare and summer camp. Last year, YGBW granted $2.2MM in financial assistance to more than 11,000 members of our local community thanks to the generosity of donors.

Donate to YGBW’s Annual Campaign: https://ymcagbw.org/donatenow
LCH Health and Community Services: https://lchcommunityhealth.org/about-us/
About Water Safety at the Y: https://ymcagbw.org/safety-around-water